Meet Karen Pivnick

RoncyWorks Green Team Profiles

In celebration of Garden Days 2018, the Roncesvalles Village BIA is showcasing the dedicated community members who maintain our sidewalk gardens and beautify our vibrant street.

Garden at 413 Roncesvalles

Karen Pivnick is volunteer gardener for Roncy Works and a resident of Roncesvalles Village for over 30 years. She maintains the garden bed at 413 Roncesvalles Ave, in front of the Westerly Bar and Village Meat deli.

This is Karen’s second season gardening with RoncyWorks. Karen joined RoncyWorks to combine “her love of gardening” with community involvement. She took over maintenance of the native plant garden planted by former RoncyWorks Green Team volunteer, Heidi Eisenhauer, after she moved away. What she finds most inspiring about gardening is watching her plants evolve and flourish, as well as seeing the joy her garden brings to people.

Karen Pivnick

Karen began gardening at a young age, experiencing the “creativity and work that was required” through her parents early on. As a homeowner, Karen has been “maintaining the plants on her property for over 30 years”.

Despite her experience, being “a part of RoncyWorks and working with a dedicated group of gardeners” has allowed her to learn more about gardening from fellow community members. Furthermore, maintaining a street garden has given her a different perspective of the craft. “We can care for street gardens as you would a personal garden,” said Karen. “However, you need to manage expectations when a garden is in a public space. Selected plants must be able to survive wear and tear, worn soil and drought conditions.”